1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a molecular device, molecule array, rectifier device, rectifying method, sensor device, switching device, circuit device, logical circuit device, operational device and information processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Molecular electronics for building devices having molecular electronic devices as their components to perform required functions have continuously gathered lots of interests since the proposal by A. Aviram, M. A. Ratner, et al. in 1974 (Non-patent Document 1: Chemical Physics Letter, vol. 29, 277 (1974)) under anticipation to sophisticated and highly integrated devices based upon a concept completely different from conventional electronic devices (Non-patent Document 2: Y. Wada, M. Tsukada, M. Fujihira, K. Matsushige, T. Ogawa, M. Haga and S. Tanaka, Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 39, p. 3835 (2000)). Additionally, molecular electronics has recently been taken up as one of central issues of nanoscale science and technology.
Molecular electronic devices (or molecular nanoelectronics devices) heretofore proposed include a molecular switch composed of a molecule combining donors and acceptors; molecular conductor composed of linear-chain conjugate molecules, and so on (Non-patent Document 3: Y. Wada, H. Yamada, K. Matsushige, Applied Physics, vol. 70, p. 1396 (2001)).
Non-patent Document 4 (Y. Kobuke, “Supermolecular Porphyrin Functional Arrays”, Material Integration, Vol. 14 No. 5, p. 59 (2001)) and Non-patent Document 5 (K. Ogawa and Y. Kobuke, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 39, p. 4070 (2000)) report on meso-coupled imidazolyl porphyrin dimers. Non-patent Document 4 also comments on a photocurrent enhancing effect of a porphyrin array.
Patent Document 1 (JP2001-213945 A) discloses oligo(5,15-diaryl-substituted Zn(II)-porphyrinylene) compounds extremely long up to 106 nm, for example, which compose monodisperse polymer rod of exact lengths and structures. Patent Document 2 discloses a novel mercapto-substituted imidazolyl porphyrin metal complex monomer and a polymer having the same as a repeating unit as well as their manufacturing methods. Patent Document 3 discloses a porphyrin dimer having imidazolyl porphyrin metal complex as a monomer. Patent Document 4 discloses poly(porphyrin) having an imidazolyl porphyrin metal complex as units.
Non-patent Document 6 (I. V. Rubtsov, Y. Kobuke, H. Miyaji, K. Yoshihara, “Energy Transfer in a Porphyrin Chelate Assembly”, Chemical Physics Letters Vol. 308, 323 (1999)) reports that energy transfer between molecules takes place in approximately 10 picoseconds. Non-patent Document 7 (Homepage of Kobuke Laboratory, Internet, <URL: mswebs.aist-nara.ac.jp/LABs/kobuke/index-j.html> accessed on May 20, 2002) roughly explains application of porphyrin arrays to electronics.
Non-patent Document 8 (Imahori et al. “Photoactive three dimensional monolayers; Porphyrin-Alkanthiolate-stabilized gold cluster” (Imahori-jacs2001.pdf) and Non-patent Document 9 (H. Imahori and S. Fukuzumi, “Review on molecular solar cells”, Kagaku Kogyo, vol. Jul. 2001, p. 41) report about photoelectric conversion by combination of gold, thiol and C60.
Non-patent Document 10 (N. Aratani, A. Osuka, Y. H. Kim, D. H. Jeong, D. Kim, “Extremely Long, Discrete meso-meso-Coupled Porphyrin Arrays”, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 39, No. 8, p. 1458 (2000)) reports on synthesis and absorption spectrums of covalent porphyrin arrays. Used for synthesis is meso-meso-coupling reaction of 5,15-diaryl porphyrin (containing Zn as the central metal) promoted by AgI.
Non-patent Document 11 (N. Ohta, Y. Iwaki, T. Ito, I. Yamazaki, A. Osuka, “Photoinduced Charge Transfer along a meso-meso-linked Porphyrin Array”, Journal of Physical Chemistry, B. Vol. 103, p. 11242 (1999)) reports on measurement related to energy transfer (excitons) in a covalent porphyrin array. Measured here are properties of excitons parallel and perpendicular to longer molecular axes important for rectifier devices.
Non-patent Document 12 (A. Tsuda, H. Furuta, and A. Osuka, “Completely Fused Diporphyrins and Triporphyrin”, Angewandte Chemie, International Edition, 39, No. 14, p. 2549 (2000)) and Non-patent Document 13 (A. Ishida, “Observe behaviors of molecules from flows of electrons and energy”, www. jst.go.jp/pr/announce/20000301/bessi3/kadai2.html) reports a flatly modified of a porphyrin polymer.
Non-patent Document 14 (K. Yamashita, “Conversion of Light Energy by Porphyrin”, Hyomen, Vol. 21, No. 7, p. 406 (1983)) describes changes in electron state of porphyrin molecules with their central metals in detail.
Non-patent Document 15 (K. Matsushige and K. Tanaka, “Molecular Nanotechnology”, Kagaku Dojin, 1992) gives an explanation on design and synthesis of single-molecule devices in Chapter 13, an explanation on energy/electron transport devices by nanocoupled systems in Chapter 10, and an explanation on building of a molecular computer in Chapter 17.
Non-patent Document 16 (A. K. Burrell, D. L. Officer, P. G. Plieger and D. C. W. Reid, “Synthetic Routs to Multiporphyrin Arrays”, Chemical Review, 101, p. 2751 (2001) describes lots of examples of multiporphyrin arrays.
Non-patent Document 17 (Tetrahedron, Vol. 50, No. 39, p. 11427 (1994)) describes a method of synthesizing meso-coupled imidazolyl porphyrin dimers.
Non-patent Document 18 (A. Ishida and T. Majima, “Surface Plasmon Excitation of Porphyrin self-assembly monolayers on an Au surface” Nanotechnology 10, p. 308 (1999)) reports on surface plasmon excitation of porphyrin.
Non-patent Document 19 (R. W. Wagner and J. S. Lindsey, “A Molecular Photonic Wire”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1994, 116, 9759–9760.) reports on a method of modifying a terminal end of a porphyrin array and using light excitation thereby as an input.
Non-patent Document 20 (“Works of the group of Professor T. Yanagida in Osaka University”, <URL: http://www.jst.go.jp/erato/project/ysu_P/syn/index.html> accessed on May 20, 2002) and Non-patent Document 21 (Catalogue of Products of Hamamatsu Photonics, <URL: http://www.hpk.co.jp/jpn/products/SYS/C8600J.htm> accessed on May 20, 2002) report on single-molecule imaging methods.
Non-patent Document 22 (Y. Kobuke and H. Miyaji, Journal of American Chemical Society 116, p. 4111 (1994)) describes that fluorescent light from porphyrin has the wavelength of approximately 600±20 nm.